DAMASCUS, Aug. 3 — Syrian state media says the authorities are hunting down "terrorists" that have fired mortar shells at al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugees camp in Damascus, as local reports said the shelling left at least eight people killed on Thursday.

The Syrian authorities said "terrorists" have fired mortar shells, which caused several injuries, while a local pro- Palestinian Facebook page posted the names of eight victims.

It wasn't clear who had fired the mortars, but initial speculations suggested that the firing came from the nearby al- Tadamun district that is witnessing clashes between armed rebels and government forces.

Sources said the rebels are cornered in Tadamun.

Meanwhile, online posts called on the Palestinians in Syria not to be dragged by the "sedition" that aims at thrusting the Palestinians in Syria in the months-long crisis.

The Palestinians in Syria have largely stood at the sideline of the current crisis but the spiralling crisis seem to have absorbed them into the bloody unrest's whirlpool.

Syria hosts roughly 500,000 Palestinians, who were displaced on the heels of the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948.

The living conditions of the Palestinians in Syria are largely better than their brethren in other countries as they enjoy almost all rights of the Syrian citizens. (PNA/Xinhua)